Friday, April 16, 2010

Blog Censorship

I have blogged on and off for several years. I often debate how much content to censor and how much to share. My entire family (including in-laws) read this blog. I know that some things I would write would cause me a lot of grief. I don't like drama, and frankly, have enough of it in my life. But I also want to share my life with you, my whole, crazy, drama-ridden, life. And so I go back and forth. I think, "you know, it's not my fault that my family is so hilarious and bizarre that I can't help but write about it." And then I think, "well, I'm already the black-sheep, should I really make it worse?"...I've never been one to do things just to keep others happy. But I also don't want my life to be more complicated than it is.

The story of my life.

How do you decide what to write/not write on your blog? Do you keep some things private?

21 comments:

i think it is really hard to decide what to write...often i write just about everything...except for the things that i know i am writing out of spite or aimed at a particular person...because i know that ultimatly it won't actually make me feel good...and obviously anything that is honestly hurtful...other than that it is free reign to me!

I'm lucky because although I post our first names and pictures on occasion, no one in my life has found my blog. And actually, there are very few people who even know of it. I prefer to keep it this way because I like being able to bitch about my in-laws, my parents, and just things in general that would offend my family and friends. Yet I do still sensor myself to a certain degree- not just to keep my location and identity safe but because if it were ever to be found I would want the things I've written to come across as frustrated or jokingly instead of angry or bitchy. And I try not to include names whenever possible.

my family and my inlaws don't know i have a blog, but a few friends do. i like it this way, and i actually feel more freedom blogging like this. i don't have pics of me or my family, i don't use my name, so this feeling of anonymity lets me write about whatever i want. true, i'm not really sharing intimate details, just my house reno, but my writing style is so me that if people knew it was me, it would make sense to them. does that make sense? a friend once told me that i am the only person that, when i type or write, he can actually hear me saying the words as he reads them. so i feel like i am blogging as my true, uncensored self, just kind of unknown.

Once a few family members started reading my blog, I decided to leave personal family gripes out of it - and believe me, I could write a book on just that...I try to stay positive because my sister-in-law reads it daily...my girlfriends haven't found me yet, but you never know when someone will read all the way back to the beginning...complaining and gossiping will only cause anger some day...and none of us need to read it - I like the uplifting stories, the happy ones, the ones that make me think or giggle! Stop over to enter giveaway!

I, like you, worried at one point about sharing too much info. But, my family never responds to anything. Not even in conversation, with the exception of one occasion. But before that occasion, I had assumed that they never even visited my blog. I think so differently than my family...on many topics. From breastfeeding and circumcision, to volunteering instead of working. I am who I am. My blog is my blog. Take it or leave it. :0)

My blog has always been available via FB, so two pastors and a pastor's wife (and multiple other church staff members) can read it. That kind of keeps me in check. Sometimes it frustrates me because I want to VENT, but most of the time I realize it keeps me in check -- and positive. But my family blog is just for gushing about my girls, and pretty much only family goes there. :-)

I think it depends on what you are censoring. If you mean blogging about people in your life (i.e. relationships, interactions, etc..), I'd stay away from it. Venting about a fight or disagreement on a blog is a bit passive aggressive in my opinion. If you want to vent about that type of situation do it with your husband, best friend or write it in a journal. If you pour it out there on a blog, you may find that a situation is resolved and your opinion changes. Problem is that what you wrote in the blog doesn't change ... it's there FOREVER. Even if you delete the post ... you can't delete from the minds of a reader.

Oh the other hand, if you are thinking of censoring opinions, decisions etc... because someone in your life might disagree or change their view of you .... don't do it! No matter what, you have to be true to yourself. Those types of things are what guide your life and make you who you are. It's the whole point of having a blog.

I have two blogs a family blog that is private and only open to invited readers, and a public blog that I treat as my business. I like to have it divided, then I don't have to sensor myself on either. I write family stuff for family and everything else for the whole world to see.

Ah, what a good question!I think there are two parts to this.Firstly, there are people that you know who read your blog. They can be family or friends. You can decide on what you want to write and how much of your life you wana share with them, to an extent you can control their impression on your life by writing with a perspective you like.

Secondly, there are people who you don't know, now this one is tricky.They maybe good people who really like reading your blog or other 'mommy bloggers'. You know somebody I know (not in real life, just over the internet) mentioned how openly sharing so many pictures of your kids can be dangerous. How you shouldn't share first and last names, the exact place you live etc. Her point was basically, that you don't know who might be reading your blog and with what intentios!

I don't mean to scare anyone but as a new blogger I pondered on the exact same question and as person who writes about her family and children I feel I have to so much more open as opposed to when I blogged earlier on just my opinions on life.

All I can say is that once I had this awful rude thing was said to me at church. I ranted. No names, no actual personal facts about the offender- just a quote of what was said and how much it hurt me. I got ripped to shreds by my so called friends, huge drama unfolded quickly after.

So, if you are a person who lets things go easily then maybe it won't be a problem, but if you aren't I would be careful about posting any dramatic things, events etc.

i operate under the idea that if i really don't want my family to see it, then i probably shouldn't be posting it anyway. if it's something that may be controversial, then i need to be able to argue/back it up effectively. my parents, my grandmother, all of my cousins, and most of my aunts are all on facebook. two or three are on twitter. my mom has a blog. it's only a matter of time before nothing on the internet is private. so i just try to be as appropriate as possible with out completely censoring myself. it's a fine line, but i feel it's one i can handle.

My blog is strictly about my creative endeavors. However, I don't just write about those online. I've been a member of a small online diary community for about 7 years now. I love that I can spill it all there and it's under a pen name so outsiders would have to know what name to search to find me. Plus, there are security measures I can take to prevent people from or allow them to read. It's nice. :) I feel like I get the best of both worlds. I can vent and whine in my diary, but then I have this blog that lets me be creative and focus on just that.

Before I comment specifically about this post, I want to note that I am new to your blog (found you over at The Good Life with Courtney) and I already know I'll be a fan just by skimming through your first page of posts.

I've been blogging for four years (only recently on blogger though) and I've had my fair share of learning experiences when it comes to sharing too much. I've seen moved my blog from myspace to blogger in an effort to keep certain family members from reading who would other wise have access though myspace friendships. Even in my attempt to eliminate certain family members from reading, I still try to avoid offending readers. I struggle though. Shouldn't it be about ME and MY thoughts? Where do you draw the line between being honest and true to yourself and keeping follower counts up? Yea, I think my comment is getting a bit long. I should probably blog about it...haha.

Anyways, just wanted to stop in, introduce myself and say that I look forward to reading what you have to share.

My blog in anonymous! That is my secret:) To my knowledge not a single sole I know reads my blog! This gives you a great place to vent and share. The only downside, I can't post any fab pictures of my 2 gorgeous girls.

Hi I just found your blog and love it. I have a 14 month old so can relate to a lot. What do I post-I just closed our family blog. It was just a day to day what's happening, the things the kids are doing and so on. I did include things like my daughters school which is easy to find where it is. I recently was directed to a site that if you entered my name it contained an enormous amount of personal info including personal wealth, street address etc. Now I just have a blog about decorating and relocating. I love blogging and I love reading other blogs but I'm now SO much more careful about what I post.